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April 8
I
AM WITH THEE
by Ray Prinzing
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy
God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will
uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness."
(Isaiah
41:10).
Precious are the
promises which emphasize the fact that God is always with us, in
both the negative and positive happenings. Circumstances may
change, but our Lord never changes. Our awareness of His
presence may be dull, or we may sense Him in new and precious
closeness, but regardless of feelings, or awareness, He is always
there.
In Genesis 39, we read
of how Joseph was made head of the house of Potiphar, "And the
Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the
house of his master the Egyptian." (v. 2).
Everything was entrusted to his care, the blessing of God was with
him, until - suddenly the scene changes, false accusations are made,
and he is cast into prison, bitterly hated, and in danger of losing
his life. Still we read, "And the Lord was with Joseph, and
showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of
prison." (v. 21). How quickly the circumstances changed,
but the Lord had not changed, and so all was well. Be it in
the palace or the prison, it mattered little, since the Lord was
with Joseph. There could be only one final outcome, victory.
There is no failure or defeat in our Lord, not for those who become
one in Him.
In due time the whole
nation of Israel was led up out of Egypt, and again we read, "The
Lord went before them by day in a pillar of fire, to give them
light; to go by day and night." (Exodus 13:21). All
the progress of Israel was not made in the daytime, for often they
were to travel at night, but whether by day, when it was light and
warm, or by night, when it was dark and colder, it mattered not,
they were as safe one time as another BECAUSE GOD WAS WITH THEM.
"For He hath said, I will never leave thee, or forsake thee." (Hebrews
13:5). A promise which abides through all ages.
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